Electrical connector



Aug. 27, 1968 v. E. PEEK 3,399,375

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed July 11, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l l 1 4 Z l\ 19W X 25 i Aug. 27, 1968 v. E. PEEK 3,399,375

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR Filed July 11, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An electrical connector is describedfor use in an elec trical distribution system as a dead-ending aid forneutral service drops. The connector includes a pair of jaws pivota'llyinterconnected for swinging movement about an axis transverse to thejaws, and a pair of spaced main and tap conductor grooves extendingparallel to the axis in each of the jaws. One of the jaws has an openingand the other an integral bolt adapted to pass through the opening onswinging movement of that jaw for inserting and clamping the conductorsin the grooves between the jaws. The pivotal interconnection includes aslot for assembly of the jaws.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an electricalconnector, and more particularly to a mid-span connector for neutralservice drops.

It is frequently necessary to electrically and mechanically connect atap conductor to a main line conductor in an electrical distributionsystem to provide a neutral service drop to a point remote from the mainconductor. Various types of connectors have been developed for thispurpose but none have proven entirely satisfactory under some conditionsof use and for some purposes. For example, such connectors frequentlybecome disassembled and drop to the ground during installation, aredifficult to install, and generally consist of a large number ofseparate components parts which are difficult to handle and costly tomanufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the several objects of the invention maybe noted the provision of an electrical connector which mechanically andelectrically connects a tap conductor to a main conductor; the provisionof such a connector which may be installed with ease by a singlelineman; the provision of such a connector which consists of fewercomponent parts than similar connectors; the provision of such aconnector which cannot become disassembled during installation; theprovision of such a connector which may be easily assembled for use; theprovision of such a connector capable of use with a wide range ofconductor sizes; and the provision of such a connector which ischaracterized by simplicity of construction and low cost. Other objectsand features will be in part apparent and in part pointed outhereinafter.

Briefly, an electrical connector of this invention comprises first andsecond jaws pivotally interconnected at one end thereof for swingingmovement about an axis transverse to the jaws. The jaws have opposedfaces each of which includes a pair of spaced grooves substantiallyparallel to each other and to the axis, and the first jaw has an openingand the second jaw a captive bolt adapted to extend from between thegrooves thereof through the opening. The second jaw is swingable aboutthe axis from a first position wherein the bolt is displaced from theopening and both grooves in the first jaw are unobstructed whereby onegroove may receive a main con- "Ice ductor to a second position whereinthe bolt is swung into the opening whereby the main conductor is heldbetween one set of opposing grooves and a tap conductor may be insertedbetween the other set of opposing grooves. The bolt further includesmeans for bearing against the first jaw to draw it against the secondjaw to clamp the jaws together with the conductors therebetween.

'BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A and 1B are plan andelevation views, respectively, of one of the jaws of a connector of thisinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are plan and elevation views, respectively, of the otherconnector jaw;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of the assembled connector in an openposition;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the connector in a partiallyclosed position; and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are plan and elevation views, respectively, of theconnector completely closed about main and tap conductors.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, an electrical connector of thisinvention comprises a jaw or keeper portion 1 and a mating jaw or bodyportion 3. The jaw 1 is constituted by an integral T-shaped member 5having a head portion 7 and a captive bolt or shank portion 9, thelatter being threaded over a portion of its length as indicated at 11.The head 7 of jaw 1 is provided with first and second pairs of laterallyextending flanges 13 and 15 respectively defining spaced parallel tapand main conductor grooves 17 and 1-9 in the face of the jaw. Adownwardly curved nose or tab 21 extends between the tap conductorflanges 13. At one end of head 7 is a relatively large hinge loop 23having an oblique slot 25 therein, the purpose of which will behereinafter set forth. A flat washer 27 is received on bolt 9 and a nut29 is threaded thereon. The threads at the end of bolt 9 are peenedover, as indicated at 31, to hold the nut captive on the bolt. Jaw 1 ispreferably formed of any suitable electrically conductive material, suchas a high-strength aluminum or bronze or alumimum-bronze alloyelectroplated with tin.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the jaw 3 is constituted by an integralbifurcated casting 33 having a pair of legs 35 and 37 defining anopening or slot 39. The legs 35 and 37 are joined by a bn'dge 41 neartheir centers and by an Open strain relief eye 43 at their ends. A pairof spaced parallel arcuate grooves 45 and 47 are formed in the face ofcasting 33 for respectively receiving the tap and main conductors. Itshould be noted that the spacing of grooves 45 and 47 corresponds to thespacing of grooves 17 and 19 in jaw 1. The end of jaw 3 opposite eye 43extends upwardly and outwardly to form a hinge loop 49 having an opening50 bounded by curved legs 52 at its sides and a crossbar 51 at its end.The lower surface of casting 33- opposite its face is arcuatelyconfigured, as indicated at 53, for engagement with washer 27 and nut 29on jaw 1. Jaw 3 may be formed of any suitable electrically conductivematerial, such as a highstrength aluminum alloy.

Referring to FIGS. 3-6, first and second jaws 3 and 1, respectively, arepivotally interconnected at one end for swinging movement about an axistransverse to the jaws by means of hinge loops 23 and 49. That is,crossbar 51 of hinge loop 49 is passed through oblique slot 25 and hingeloop 23 is pressed partially closed to prevent accidental or inadvertentdisassembly of the jaws during installation and use. It should be notedthat the hinge loops extend transversely to each other and the groovesextend parallel to the pivotal axis. Second jaw 1 is thus free to swingon first jaw 3 from a first position, such as illustrated in FIG. 3,wherein bolt 9 is displaced from opening 39 and grooves 45 and 47 areunobstructed for receiving a main conductor 55 in groove 47 to a secondposition, such as illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein the bolt is swung intoopening 39 for holding main conductor 55 between grooves 19 and 47 whilepermitting insertion of a tap conductor 57 between the other set ofgrooves 17 and 45.

To relieve the weight of the tap conductor run from its end where it isclamped between the jaws, a conventional dead-ending clamp 59 is securedto the tap conductor at a point spaced from, but near, its end. Thedead-ending clamp 59 illustrated in FIGS. and 6 consists of a tubularsleeve 61 encircling tap conductor 57, and a wedge plate 63 having abail 65 looped through connector eye 43, The purpose of dead-endingclamp 59 is to act as a strain relief for tap conductor 57 by removingthe weight of the tensioned conductor run from its curved end where itis secured between grooves 17 and 45 and transferring it directly fromdead-ending clamp 59 through bail 65 to strain relief eye 43. Thus, thecurved connected end portion of tap conductor 57 is not subjected to thetension load of the conductor r-un.

To electrically and mechanically connect tap conductor 57 along the spanof uninsulated main conductor 55 to provide a neutral service drop, thelineman first assemblies the wedge-type dead-ending clamp 59 on tapconductor 57 by threading collar 61 thereon, inserting bail 65 througheye 43 and forcing wedge 63 between the conductor and the collar. Nut 29and washer 27 are backed off to the end of threaded portion 11 of bolt 9and jaw 1 is pivoted on jaw 3 to the position of the connectorillustrated in FIG. 3.

The connector and attached tap conductor is then moved into a positionrelative to the main conductor so that the main conductor is received ingroove 47 in jaw 3, as illustrated in FIG. 3, and jaw 1 is pivoteddownwardly so that bolt 9, washer 27 and nut 29 pass through opening 39and eye 43. Nut 29 is then threaded partially up the bolt and jaw 1 ispivoted to the FIG. 4 position wherein the jaws cooperate to restrainmain conductor 55 against withdrawal from between grooves 47 and 19while allowing for insertion of tap conductor 57 either between nose 21and the lip of groove 45 or sideways through the bore of grooves 45 and17. The end of tap conductor 57 is then inserted between grooves 45 and17 and jaw 1 is pivoted vertically to the FIGS. 5 and 6 position. Nut 29is then threaded the remaining distance up bolt 9 into engagement withsurface 53 on jaw 3, thereby clamping the jaws together with the mainand tap conductors therebetween, the nut and washer constituting a meansfor bearing against jaw 3 to draw it against jaw 1. As the nut istightened against jaw 3, a clamping force is simultaneously applied onboth sides of the conductors by the respective jaws by means of thesingle bolt and nut. It should be noted that in the intermediate FIG. 4position of jaw 1, fiat washer 27 intersects arcuate surface 53 andprevents the jaw from swinging completely open. Thus, although the tapconductor can be freely inserted or removed from the tap conductorgrooves, the main conductor is securely restrained between the jaws tosupport the connector during installation and free both of the linemanshands for insertion of the tap conductor. The large diameters of hingeloops 23 and 49 permit free relative swinging movement of the jaws butdo not interfere with the clamping pressure on the conductors. Ifdesired, a lock washer may be inserted between the nut and flat washer,or an integral nut and washer may be used.

Thus, the connector of this invention mechanically and electricallyconnects a tap conductor to a main line conductor by means of a singlebolt and nut. The connector may be utilized with a wide range of mainand tap conductor sizes, may be installed in a relatively short time bya single lineman, is easily assembled by means of the slotted hinge loopconnection, and provides a unitary, but pivotable, structure for ease ofinstallation. In addition, the connector is composed of relatively fewparts, is economical to manufacture and is maintenance free.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector comprising first and second jaws, meanspivotally interconnecting the jaws at one end thereof for swingingmovement about an axis transverse to the jaws, said jaws having opposingfaces each of which includes a pair of spaced grooves substantiallyparallel to each other and said axis, said first jaw having an openingtherein and said second jaw having a captive bolt adapted to extend frombetween the grooves thereof through said opening, said second jaw beingswingable about said axis from a first position wherein the bolt isdisplaced from said opening and both grooves in said first jaw areunobstructed whereby one groove may receive a main conductor to a secondposition wherein said bolt is swung into said opening whereby the mainconductor is held between one set of opposing grooves of said jaws and atap conductor may be inserted between the other set of opposing grooves,said bolt including means for bearing against the first jaw to draw itagainst the second jaw thereby to clamp the jaws together with saidconductors therebetween.

2. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidinterconnecting means comprises a hinge loop at said one end of each ofthe jaws, the hinge loop on the first jaw extending transverse to thehinge loop on the second jaw, said hinge loops being pivotally connectedto each other.

3. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 2 wherein one of saidhinge loops is slotted for assembly of the jaws, the slot beingpartially closed after assembly to prevent inadvertent disassembly ofthe jaws during installation and use.

4. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 3 wherein the hingeloop on the second jaw is slotted.

5. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein the surfaceof said first jaw opposite its face is arcuate, said surface beingengageable with the means for bearing against the first jaw for limitingswinging movement of the second jaw from said second position to saidfirst position, whereby the main conductor is held against withdrawalfrom said one set of grooves while permitting insertion of the tapconductor between said other set of grooves.

6. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 5 wherein said bolt isintegral with said second jaw and said means for bearing against thefirst jaw comprises a nut threaded on the bolt.

7. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 6 further comprising astrain relief eye at the other end of said first jaw, said eye beingadapted to receive the hail of a strain relief dead-ending clampconnected to said tap conductor.

8. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 7 where- ReferencesCited in said interconnecting means comprises a hinge loop at UNITEDSTATES PATENTS said one end of each of said aws, the hinge loop on thefirst jaw extending transverse to the hinge loop on the 1,278,013 9/1918Reed 339-466 second jaw, said hinge loops being pivotally connected to 52,219,846 10/1940 Meyer 24 81 each Othen 3,019,282 1/1962 Husted 174-439. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 8 where- 3177459 4/1965Toedtman 339246 X in one of said hinge loops is obliquely slotted forassem- FOREIGN PATENTS bly of the l 1,025,423 1/1953 France.

10. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 9 10 0 714 195 Germanywherein the end of said bolt is peened to maintain said nut captive onsaid bolt. RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner.

